Crate



`Allg., 11, BS. E. Q sTElGER 2,050,814

CRATE Filed March 2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E ZF Patented ug. Il, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OF F ICE CRATE Edward C. Steiger, Chicago, IIL.. assigner to Olii;-

cagov Milland Iikulnber Company.. Chicago,. lll., a corporation of Delaware Application March 2, 1936,- Seral No. 66,544

9 Claims.Y

This invention relates to nesting or staclng crates or boxes of the tapered type having downwardly' converging side walls to permit nesting of the crates andV furthermore having improved reinforced metal endl walls provided with inward- -tofacilitate nesting of the crates one within an'. other' when erh-Pty with the bars of an upper crate seating upon the upper' edges ofj the end rail members of a lower' crate: for holding' the reinforcing' or! framesfof the crates separatd iol pe'irnit easy sparatir the 'zl-"ates:V

It is an` object or this invention to provide a. stackingV crateorf b'ox having side and bottoni walls constructed of wood or' and' provided with metal end walls iianged for mounting! purposes and corrugated fori the? double purpose of reinforcing. trief end walls and providing pockets or` groovesv on the inner sides of Vthe endwalls for' the reception of the ends oi the side walls ot the crates to prevent said side walls from being forced inwardly.-

It is also-an object of this invention to provide anfimproved type of stacking. crate having. the end walls thereof constructed of corrugatednietal and having upper portions thereof expanded outwardly to torni stacking' barsV or ribs below the top1 rail members tofacilitate nesting of the crates and separation othe same as4 desired.

It isa further object of this invention` to pro'- vi'de a stacking crate having an'- end wall constructed of sheet metal formed' tov provide inwardly projecting ribs or corrugations to form side Wall receiving pockets on the inner' sides of the' end walls.l

It is furthermore an object of this invention to-provide'a' stacking crate or box provided-l with a unitary sheet metal endwall to form side wall receiving pockets on the inner side ofthe end wall, said end wall furthermore having a'V horizontal portionl thereof expanded` outwardly to form'a nesting bar to hold' the frames or rims of nestedcrates properly spaced apart to facilitate removal.1 of one crate from within another;

Itiis'l an important object of this: invention to provide improved. stacking or nesting' crates of the tapered type provieeeiwitn; atop ffameand having` sheet instar endA walls corrugated; for strength` and for the purpose or providiiiggniue pocketson trieinner sidesofendfvvaiisefortne (ci. 21T-5)' receptionof the endsv of the side walls of the crate-, said metal' end walls furthermore each`A being provided with an integralnesting bar and with an outwardly projecting top flange adapted to project into a groove on'v the inner side of the top frame end memben Other and` further important objects ofA this invention will be apparent from the disclosures intheV specification and the accompanying drawl lngsr The invention (in a.: preferred forni) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described.

On the drawings Figure 1- is a fragmentary vertical detailed l5" tion taken on line III- III of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal detailed section taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 1, illustrating the cross section of the metal end wall and also illustrating portions of the bottom and side walls of the crate.

Figure 5 is an isometric view of one of the metal end wall units removed from the crate and i1- lustrating the outwardly expanded stacking bar, the various flanges of the end wall, and the reinforcing corrugations the two outermost ones of which provide receiving pockets on the inner side 0i the end wall for the reception of the ends of the side walls of the crate.

As shown on the drawings:

The improved nesting crate or box comprises a wood or fiber bottom l provided with ventilation eyelets or' openings 2 and reinforced by means of longitudinally disposed bottom rails or runners 3 and transverse cleats or brace bars d. Each end of each of the bottom runners 3 is rounded at 5 and is provided with an end slot 6 intermediate the top and the bottom of the runner andextending inwardlya short distance as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1.

The'body ofi the crate 0r box is of the tapered form and' comprises two side walls 'l constructed of wood, fiber board, or" other suitable material. Theside Walls 1 are shaped' andl mounted to form The two ends of the body of the crate or 56X' 1 l.

Each of are closed by improved end wall units. the end wall units as clearly illustrated in Fig 5,

is stamped or formed out of sheet metal and com- Y prises a metal end wall I8 having inwardly' projecting corrugations or ribs I I formed thereonv to reinforce the wall and forni a comparatively strong end of thin sheet metal. As clearlyA illusy trated in Fig. 4 the two longer outermost corru'- gationsor ribs are-designated Ill and serve as guides or stop means against whiclrthe ends of the side walls I` are adapted to abut and be held in place with the assistance of side flanges I2 which are integrally formed by bending over the side margins of the end wall I8. Thebottom margin of the end wallv I is bent inwardly to form a bottom flange I3. As clearly illustrated in Fig.

5 the lower endsofthe Vside flanges I2 are bent inwardly against the bottom surface of the end portions of thebottom flange I3 and are spot welded in place. The outermost corrugations or ribs designated by the reference numeral I4 together with the side flanges I2 of the end wall form sockets or pockets at I5 for receiving the end margins of the side walls- 'I of the crate to strengthen the cornersof the crate. The side flanges I2 of the end walls are provided with apertures I6 to receive nails or screws for fastening the end margins of the side walls to the flanges I2 of the end walls lil. The bottom flange I3 of each of the end walls I8 together with the bent over lower ends of the side flanges I2 project into the end slotsB of the bottom runners or rails 3 thereby permitting the majorportion of .the bottom ilangeV I 3,to seat against the bottom of one of the transverse reinforcing bars or cleats 4 to which the bottom flange is secured by screws, nails or other suitable means. The top `margin of the end wall Ill is deflected outwardly to provide a top flange I'l.

For the purpose of nesting the improved crates or boxes each of the end walls ID is provided at the upper portion thereof below the top ange I'I with a nesting bar or rib I8 which is formed by bulging or expanding a horizontal portion of the end wall IG outwardly across the wall above the upper ends of the corrugations'II. The arrangement provides two spacing bars or protuberances across the metal end walls of the crate body a short distance below the end rails of the top frame of the crate.

Secured around the upper margin of the body of the crate is a top frame comprising side rails or bars I9 and end rails or bars 29. The side rails I9 have the inner sides thereof grooved to seat As clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 the stacking bars I8 are positioned across the end walls I0 of the crate directly below the top reinforcing frame end rails to provide a convenient arrangement Whereby a crate may be nested Within a similar crate with the nesting bars I8 of an upper crate' resting upon the tops of the end rails 20 of a lower crate so that the upper reinforcing frames of the crates are held 'in spaced -relation "so that the crates may be easily lifted out of 'one another by gripping an upper crate beneath the frame members.

@The improved metal end wall units of the crate provide an arrangement for enclosing the ends of the side walls and the bottom to form a rigid crate construction the strength of which is increased by fthe corrugated end walls which being constructed of metal produce a crate of great strength withoutk materially increasing the weight or the costof the crate. The guide ribs I4 serve the double purpose of being reinforcing means as well asstop members and guides for the endsof the side walls ofthe crate, whilethe bars I8 act -to strengthen the upperY portions ofthe end walls of the vcrate as well as provide suitable spacing or nestingY means for facilitating the separation of nestedcrates. e

1 iIf itis desired to provide a crate of the type herein described with stacking irons such as are disclosed in the patent to W. O. Brown No. 1,982,367,i dated November 27, 1934, the stacking barsv I8 may be omitted since the stacking irons when used may serveas the-separating means between the top frames of the crates Awhen it is desired to nest the crates one within another.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may b e varied througha wide rangewithout departing from the principles of this invention, Yand itis, therefore, not the purpose tolimit the patent granted hereon otherwise than isnecessitated by the scopeofthe appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention: 1 ,A nesting crate or box having an open top,

inclined sloping side walls, a bottom of less area than the top, corrugated metal end walls enclos- .ingthe ends of theside walls and the bottom,

outwardly projecting flanges integrally formed on the metal vend. walls,l and a top frame engaged :around the crate and. having slots on the interior thereof for .receiving the voutwardly projecting flanges of theend walls.'V l

2.]A nesting container having an open top, side walls, a bottom connectingthe side walls, corrugated metal end walls enclosing the. ends of the side walls and the bottom andsecured thereto, and nesting bars expanded outwardlytransversely of the upper portions of the metal end ,walls to hold nested containers in spaced relationto facilitate separation of the nested containers.

3. A nesting container comprising a bottom, side walls and unitary metal end walls having inwardly projecting ribs integrally formed, thereon to hold the side walls in place, said end walls also having outwardly expanded nestingbars formed on the end walls between said ribs.

4. A stacking container comprising a bottom,

Yside walls secured thereto, corrugated metal end walls engaged over the ends of the side walls and the bottom and secured thereto, a top frame engaged around the upper rim of the container, said metal end walls having inwardly projecting 'stop ribs formed thereon to engage against the inner sides of the end margins of the side walls to assist in holding the side walls in place, and nesting bars integrallyformedon the end walls between the stop ribs and above the corrugations to hold the container nested in spaced relation within a similar container.

5. A tapered nesting container including a bottom and side walls, and end walls connected to the bottom and to said side walls withA each of said end walls comprising a corrugated metal plate having bottom and side anges integrally formed thereon, a top flange integrally formed on the upper margin of the metal end wall, stop means integrally formed near the side margins of the end wall and projecting inwardly adjacent the ends of the container side walls, and nesting members expanded outwardly from the end wall between the edges thereof and below the top flange of the end wall.

6. A nesting crate comprising walls, a bottom, and a reinforcing rim secured to said walls, a pair of said opposite walls having inwardly projecting ribs formed thereon and also having outwardly projecting elongated nesting bars formed thereon, said pair of opposite walls also having flanges integrally formed thereon and projecting into the material forming the reinforcing rim of the crate.

7. A nesting crate including in combination end wall units each comprising a reinforced metal plate, bottom and side flanges integrally formed on the plate and projecting away from one side of the plate, a top flange integrally formed on the plate and projecting away from the opposite side of the plate, stop ribs integrally formed on the plate parallel to and closely adjacent the side flanges of the plate, and a nesting bar on the plate beneath and parallel to the top ange.

8. A nesting crate including in combination, a wall unit comprising a reinforced metal plate having side and bottom flanges integrally formed thereon and a top flange projecting from the plate in a direction opposite from the bottom flange, and nesting means expanded from the metal forming the metal plate and terminating short of the side edges of the plate.

9. A nesting crate including in combination a wall unit comprising a corrugated metal plate, having a top flange and side and bottom flanges integrally formed thereon with the top flange projecting in a direction opposite from that of 20 the bottom ange, stop ribs integrally formed on one side of the plate parallel to and spaced from the side flanges of the plate, and nesting means expanded from the material forming the plate and positioned beneath the top flange of the 25 plate and between said stop ribs.

EDWARD C. STE'IGER. 

